Reverse mainstreaming (integrating sighted children into a special class) can be an effective approach with visually impaired elementary students, both in terms of academic benefits (such as increased individualized instruction for sighted students) and social benefits (including a greater understanding of blindness). (CL)

Fourteen children's books which may help classroom teachers understand children with handicaps are described. The books deal realistically with a variety of handicaps (mental retardation, hearing impairments, blindness, physical disabilities, and multiple disabilities) and can be an effective tool in helping nonhandicapped children empathize and…

Approaches to helping nondisabled elementary students examine their feelings in preparation for mainstreaming handicapped children are described, including simulations, activities to provide familiarity with braces and prostheses, use of handicapped adults as guest speakers, and discussions about handicaps. (CL)

The author sees the integration of handicapped with nonhandicapped children as an opportunity to increase communication options. The environment's role is considered as well as "peopling," the individual interacting with others. (CL)

The article describes a successful consultative approach based on the use of heterogeneous cooperative learning groups with special students in the regular secondary classroom. Significant improvement in classroom behaviors, social attitudes, and math achievement was noted. (CL)

The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The literature review examines activities and methods to prepare nonhandicapped children for the mainstreaming of handicapped children.…

Intended for both regular and special educators, the book outlines ways to promote integration between students with severe handicaps and their peers. The first of five sections includes an overview about students with severe handicaps as well as background information on the integration of severely handicapped students. Three chapters in section…

Analysis of essays comparing experiences in gifted and regular classes written by sixth grade gifted students found that many students felt teachers and peers outside the gifted class had unfair expectations of them. Other topics addressed by students included grading, group work, lack of acknowledgement for effort, treatment by peers, and teacher…

The second of five reports on Project REACH (Regular Education for All Children with Handicaps) describes an inservice approach to the integration of severely disabled students. REACH inservice is ongoing, systematic, and responsive and focuses on attitude and behavior change of both students and teachers. Three chapters address such preliminary…

Describes an eight-topic inservice program to help teachers facilitate the integration of mainstreamed students into the regular classroom. The program covers the nature of the disability, its effect on the classroom, techniques for meeting the student's needs and preparing the student's classmates, and sources for support material. (PGD)

Attitudes and readiness for integration by administrators and teachers and parents of special and regular education students are critical to the success of mainstreaming efforts. Addition of teacher aides to lower the student-teacher ratio is also important, as is the existence of effective resource room programs. (CL)

This study compared the perceptions of 20 normal peers of the nonspeech characteristics of 8 dysarthric (with cerebral palsy) and 8 normal-speaking children (ages 6-11). Results indicated that the normal speakers were judged much more positively than the dysarthric speakers. Implications for the mainstreaming of children with dysarthric speech are…

Thirty hearing college students were interviewed to assess their perceptions of deaf students as classmates and influences of these perceptions on campus integration efforts. Hearing students felt that deaf students had similar academic competencies but were less competent socially. Full integration, especially social integration, did not occur.…

Guidelines are provided for integrating the dependent handicapped student (DHS) into the regular school in Alberta, Canada. A short overview comprises the introduction. Identified are two types of integration: (1) incidental contact and (2) planned contact for social, recreational, and educational activities with other students. Noted are types of…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), a system intended to nurture behavioral giftedness without reliance on gifted identification procedures. The study found SEM positively influenced the attitudes of elementary school students (n=1,935) in six middle class schools. SEM may provide schoolwide benefits…